frt wheel alignment .....

[oilwell1415 563]

16 hours ago, Lee1977 said:

That's what's we all do,  "use what you have", not a thing wrong with that. 

That was a joke because we are talking about something that Stevie Wonder could adjust by eye and get close enough.

[Achto 27,639]

22 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I made the mistake of buying four right hand ends when I built mine so I had to remove them and turn them in/out a turn to adjust the length. 

Perfectly fine in my case because our ground is so rough it doesn't exactly matter. 

 

This is how I make my tie rods as well. Yes you have to drop one end to make an adjustment, but it is unlikely that you'll have to do it again after you set them the first time.

[Lee1977 6,682]

7 minutes ago, Achto said:

 

This is how I make my tie rods as well. Yes you have to drop one end to make an adjustment, but it is unlikely that you'll have to do it again after you set them the first time.

Mine are all right hand as I don't have a left hand die. Yes it makes it harder to get adjusted. I toe mine in approxly 1/8" it sure makes it drive better. When I got the1988 520 it had fixed tie rods and was toed out a 1/2" or more.

[Handy Don 12,281]

2 hours ago, Lee1977 said:

the1988 520 it had fixed tie rods and was toed out a 1/2" or more

Noticed the same on my '88 518. Decided it wasn't broke so didn't fix it.

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

3 hours ago, Handy Don said:

Decided it wasn't broke

 

I sorta came to that conclusion on my 175 also.  The rod ends were worn, but not THAT much.  The spindles and one of the axle bores were pretty worn though.  With a jack under the front axle I could see the toe-out change as I lifted the tires off the concrete.

 

As near as I could tell, the adjustment on the new rods was about 1/8" longer than the old ones.

 

I suspect that the factory just got them 'close enough' and a little toe out doesn't really matter at the end of the day but as someone else said, it does steer a little easier (but that might just be wishful thinking!)

 

[tbear853 58]

On 12/16/2020 at 8:58 AM, Mickwhitt said:

One other thing to consider is that if you want to make your track rods adjustable you need to have a left hand thread on one end of each track rod. Otherwise the length will not increase by turning the rod. With a setup having both right hand threads you can only change the length of the track rod by thread pitch per rotation of the ball joint. If that makes sense?

Mick 

But using threaded rod in a sleave or all RH threads, once adjusted to length, even if a jamb nut loosens, they'll stay set.

 

[Tractorhead 9,064]

On 12/16/2020 at 2:58 PM, Mickwhitt said:

One other thing to consider is that if you want to make your track rods adjustable you need to have a left hand thread on one end of each track rod. Otherwise the length will not increase by turning the rod. With a setup having both right hand threads you can only change the length of the track rod by thread pitch per rotation of the ball joint. If that makes sense?

Mick 

 

Sorry for my ignorance,

but how often you check or even adjust the rod ends ?

mostly once a lifetime i guess - just in case of the left right threaded rod.

 

 

I use simply Stainless Steel threaded rods with M10 and 2 right screwed Rod ends,

but the optics is in eye of beholder and will vary. 

both right threads seems to be ok in my opinion because if the rest of steering is worn out,

that can not be sensefully compensated by Rodends adjusting.

 

i just do it firstly eyeballed, and after that when i have time to play i clamp a Angle Aluminum on the Rims and measure the gap

from each rim front and backside to Frame. Should be gently bit differently , means in front toe in.

Toe in shall be best for self centering on steering Wheels.

 

i have learned several moons ago

on pushing front wheels or rear driven cars  - toe in, 

on pulling front wheels  or front driven cars  - toe out,

on 4WD same like front wheel drive.

Angle shall be between 0,45* - 0,75* 

 

most tractasteerings i’ve seen have a bigger play than just from 0,4* up to 1,2* in whole steering mechanism itself.

But hey we’re talking about Gardentractors - except some Race Tracta‘s we would not reach the 130 mph.

And if so, that will be definitely horribly funny Rides..

[ebinmaine 67,766]

4 hours ago, Tractorhead said:

reach the 130 mph.

And if so, that will be definitely horribly funny Rides

You try it....

[Jeff-C175 7,202]

42 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

You try it....

 

Hold my beer...

[Wishin4a416 2,191]

I have always given mine 1/8" - 3/16" toe in when changing tie rods and they steer  very nice. . I use a wooden rule with the brass piece that extends to get an accurate measurement. I measure the front of the WHEEL and the rear of the WHEEL @ center point horizontally and it probably equates to 1/4" at the front and rear of the tires @ center point.

[Tractorhead 9,064]

4 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Hold my beer...

 

You nailed.. 😂🤪😎👍

[Handy Don 12,281]

6 hours ago, Jeff-C175 said:

 

Hold my beer...

Epitaph?

[ebinmaine 67,766]

3 minutes ago, Handy Don said:

Epitaph?

Life's motto